Editorial

The King is dead. Long live the King!

License Raj in DG Shipping.

United States ocean shipping deregulation has prompted a great deal ofinterest and controversy across the globe in the various pieces of thelegislation including the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 1998.Deregulation proposals had included such changes to the industry asallowing for confidential service contracts between shippers andcommon carriers, eliminating the current rate filing requirementsprescribed under Federal law, and for the sunset or transformation ofthe Federal Maritime Commission.

Major companies and organizations involved in maritime shipping, theircustomers, and political bodies expressed their opinions, bothpositive and negative, on the pending legislation regarding thisissue. Advocates of deregulation suggested that the market will becomemore efficient as competition is promoted. They argued that maritimederegulation would force incumbent carriers to streamline theiroperations and reduce operating costs as well as produce a widervariety of price and service options for customers. Shipper'sorganizations, such as the National Industrial Transportation League(NITL), favored deregulation, stating that it was essential to thecontinued health of the maritime industry.

Indian Economy underwent sea changes since 1991. Licenses werescrapped. Regulations were relaxed. Permits were scrapped. Anybodycould start an industry. No questions asked. Not with DG Shipping Sir.Here every industrial activity from starting a one-man firm to acorporate has to go through a lot of hassles, delays, red-tapes,corruption and inordinate waiting with total uncertainty. Right fromplan approval to getting a vessel classed, inspected, registered hasto go through an application process, payment of huge processing fees,cajoling the babus to put up the files, get them numbered – most

important and undermine at your own peril – meeting the surveyors, whoare stuck with a half-a-million ‘more important jobs’ – not to blamethem, they are underpaid with heavy pressure of work – and offeringthe never acceptable clarifications and finally keeping your fingerscrossed for days, months and years. The industry may be underdepression. Cargo availability for the ship and vessel availabilityfor the cargo, surplus of crew, shortage of certificated officers andover-capacity of the maritime training institutions vis-à-viscluttering of applications for new courses and additional intake forthe existing courses all of which may paradoxical situations, but theJahaz Bhavan thrives in its formidable position as the crumblingcitadel of power where the greatest are humbled to their knees likethe infidels at the entrance of the God’s abode. The ISM isformidable, unless you engage the right consultants who would chargesa king’s ransom for its drafting from a template which itself is soldfor the ‘right price’ and the CDs finally finding places in therecords with no means of retrieval.

If you thought the recent outsourcing of various inspections to theROs and Class would mitigate all your hardships, you are badlymistaken. The agency has changed but the tedium of the inspections,the right formidable NCs, the Quality Manuals into which runs the hugeoutlay though none of the printed word is ever followed – all ofwhich and more of it make the changeover academic and pedantic. WithDGS Orders, DGS Circulars, MS Notices, Branch Circulars, Office Orders– one countermanding the other and the other superimposing on someother – mounting in reams or gigabytes if you prefer not to printthose magna carta volumes, with no yearly or subject wise compendiumbeing issued or attempted, you are into a merry-go-round likePriyadarshan’s movies, with no way to stay put or retrieve yourself.Companies shrewd enough to appoint the ‘Liaison Officers’ can survivethe jungle law. They do know how to survive – they have traveloperators to provide cars when needed, they know how to entertain theconcerned in exotic seafood jaunts and generally they know how totackle NCs.

You will get tons of sermons on International Safety Management andthe latest IMO Resolutions when you wanted a month’s extension for dry

docking a supply vessel, but do you get any explanation how a coffinship was classed and registered, with three decades of staggered PSCmemoirs. You endanger your DOC being revoked if one of your vesselsgets grounded off Indonesia even if the port has not seen a dredger indecades. But if your liaison officer is daunting enough or his vintagecollection is good enough, you don’t have to bother. You will gothrough all the pre-rehearsed stages, no question, but your DOC willremain intact.

Show-cause-notices should not deter you. Did you hear public memory isvery thin? The same applies to SCNs from the Jahaz Bhavan. How elseMOTA still happens to be one of the preferred institutes withaugmented intakes? Simply because they supported the DG in a courtcase by a proxy litigation? How a college, whose chairman was triedfor sodomy of the students, continue to flourish with augmented seats(Increase intake capacity from 30 to 60 candidates per annum )vide orderdated 24.12.2008?

British Raj is long dead. Long live the Jahaj Bhavan Raj!

The King is dead. Long live the King!

Gujarat plans Maritime cluster, two portcitiesAhmedabad: Gujarat Government plans to develop a Maritime clusterand two port cities, according to the sources.  Gujarat MaritimeBoard (GMB), the regulator for all non-major ports and shippingactivities in the state, will develop a Maritime cluster on thelines of such centers in Singapore and Dubai, said Mr. A.K.Rakesh, Vice-Chairman and Chief Executive.

GMB will also develop a port cityat Mundra in Kutch district whileGujarat Industrial DevelopmentCorporation (GIDC), a state-runbody for attracting industrialinvestments, will build a secondone at Pipavav. Ports regulated byGMB handle at least 25% of thetotal cargo managed by thecountry’s various ports. In 2011-12, GMB-regulated ports handled259 million tons (mt) of cargo, or about 28% of the total 930 mtof port cargo handled in the country. In 2012-13, Gujarat’s non-major ports handled 288 mt of cargo.

“Gujarat already has the infrastructure in place. The need of thehour is development of soft infrastructure such as maritimeeducation, maritime finance companies, chartering, just to name afew,” said Mr. Rakesh. “We Mr.ve noticed that trading houses thatare based in Gujarat go to places like Dubai or Mumbai for theirchartering needs.

So far, private developers and GMB have invested about Rs.30,000Crore in developing infrastructure at Gujarat ports and will sinkin an additional Rs.15,000 Core over the next two years, saidanother GMB official, requesting anonymity.

The maritime cluster approach, an important component ofgovernment policy in the US, the UK, Singapore and Australia,among other nations, is new to India, according to

Mr. Rakesh. Such a cluster incorporates interconnected companies,suppliers, service providers and firms in related industries. Thearea required for setting up the cluster and the investmentrequired for the project has not been finalized, he said.

GMB is in the process of initiating feasibility studies for themaritime cluster, expected to be developed close to state capitalGandhinagar and Ahmedabad, the principal city of Gujarat, saidanother government official, also declining to be named.

The State Government’s plan to develop port cities at Mundra andPipavav is on the lines of similar infrastructure in Singaporeand Rotterdam in the Netherlands, said Mr. Rakesh.

The port city planned in Mundra will be spread over 250-500 sq.km, and the one at Pipavav will be smaller at 100-150 sq. km.

“While there has been unplanned development around ports likeHaldia and JNPT (Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust), it could be forthe first time that cities are planned around existing ports inIndia,” said Suren Vakil, Managing Director of BMT Consultants(India) Pvt. Ltd, the Indian arm of the UK-based maritimeconsulting firm. “Both Mundra and Pipavav are thriving ports andmore people will start living here with planned development.”

Offshore Support Vessel Conclave 2013The frenzied search for oil and gas in the Indian offshore sectorhas literally caused an unbridled influx of foreign playersendeavoring to carve out a bigger share of the pie. With littleor no impediment in their way, overseas operators far outnumberthe Indians. The most important reason is that there are very fewIndian operators thus being unable to match the demand. Therequirement for vessels in the Indian offshore is pegged at 500plus. This makes getting waiver of the cabotage law a simpleexercise. The only requirement being that one-third manpower onthe vessel should be Indians.

These were the factual eye-openers that took center stage at theOffshore Support Vessel Conclave 2013 organized by Oil & Maritimeon 22nd May 2013. Eminent speakers from the Indian maritimeadministration and other regulatory bodies, offshorestakeholders, leading consultants, brokers, legal experts and ahost of other presenters of international repute examinedcritical issues that have a strong bearing on future operationsin the offshore sector.

The first session focused on the developing trends anddeliberated on the need for all E & P efforts directed to thedeeper waters. There is good news for the offshore operators.According to Capt L. K. Panda the International MaritimeOrganization (IMO) has not mandated any guidelines but has leftthe field open to the concerned maritime nations to frame theirown laws. Certification, risk management, regulations, etc areissues best left for academic debates.

“Even if the Merchant Shipping Act were to be amended to extendthe jurisdiction to beyond the Indian territorial waters of 12nautical miles, how then do we send our officers to the extendedareas?” asked Capt M. M. Saggi, former Nautical Advisor to thegovernment of India. “There are several issues that have to beconsidered in depth.”

However, there are other matters that need urgent attention.Training being the first priority as learning from accidents isnot the best option. The incessant search for skilledprofessionals is the order of the day. As the search goes intoultra deeper waters, the demands for increasingly higher criticaltechnology calls for frequent up-gradation of vessels and E & Pgear.

For the Shipping Corporation of India, the offshore has turnedout to be their bread and butter according to Capt Sunil Thappar,Director (Tanker & Bulk Carriers). Whereas, A. K. Gupta, SCI’sDirector (Technical & Offshore Services) expressed concern aboutIndian operators ending up playing only the second fiddle anddesired that Cabotage laws be strictly enforced as is the case inmost countries of the world including the U. S. and China.

The second session featured major challenges being faced by OSVstakeholders as the search moves into deeper waters. Capt R. K.Singh, Sr. V.P. (Shipping) of Reliance Industries Ltd.highlighted the difficulties confronting offshore operatorsparticularly in obtaining manpower. He praised the DirectorGeneral of Shipping’s move to enforce the employment of at least50 per cent Indian seafarers on foreign vessels which wish tocome into the Indian offshore.

While Suchint Miglani, Sr. Research Analyst, Drewry presented theE & P scenario of West Africa, Capt. K Devdas, Sr. V. P. of T &OS Division of SCI explained the future trends and the shape ofthings to come including the government’s policy and theforthcoming government auction for the gas and oil exploration.The organizers had arranged a presentation on standards oftraining, certification and about the DNV standards.

The third session combined with the fourth focused on technicalaspects of offshore vessels, role of shipyards in enhancingefficiency through design, durability and economics. SarasijMajumder, COO (Offshore Biz) of Pipavav Group dwelt on thefunctionalities of OSV and AHTVs considering the various weatherconditions and situations they were expected to operate in.

Jan Paul De Wilde, Design Manager of Rolls Royce Marine Norway,spoke about the drivers of the OSV, need for reducing Green HouseGases, regulations that are designed to control emissions, dieselelectric propulsion, wave piercing hulls form and efficiency hulldesigns. Rakesh Roy, a Naval Architect & Co-founder of Vedampresented various designs that enhance capabilities of offshorevessels and about Retrofit technology that can be exploitedadvantageously. A. Devdas, Area Manager for India, Sri Lanka and

Bangladesh, of RINA S.p.A. – Marine Division explained thevarious rules that have been brought into place by RINA foroffshore vessels.

The conclave ended up with the Tom Kennedy, Optimarin ASpresented his company’s solution to ballast water treatment. Hesaid, “We came up with environmental treatment through simple andflexible solution. No chemicals and no additives. It is simpleand easy to fix and this ballast water treatment system has beenapproved by DNV.”

He informed that the first vessel on which this has beeninstalled was in 2010 and today the company has orders forsetting up this system in over 90 ships. Though the Ballast waterconvention is still to come into force there is no doubt thatOptimarin system will go a long way in protecting the transfer ofinvasive species and coordinating a timely and effective responseto invasions.

The Neo-liberalisation of Indian SeafarerSupply - Boys in WaitingThe Indian seamen demographic can be divided into two broadcategories: the fresher, which are the focus of this paper, andthe experienced. The latter can be further divided into two sub-categories. Some experienced seamen stay in hostels also in orderto carry out job hunting, though their job hunting issignificantly easier compared to the fresher. The other sub-category consists of those ‘lucky’ seamen who are waiting to‘join ship’ shortly and those ‘happy’ seamen who have just signedoff from ships, staying temporarily in the city before going backto their hometowns for holidays. The ‘lucky’ and ‘happy’ stay forthe shortest periods, typically no more than one or two weeks,

whereas those looking for work necessarily stay for longer.However, waiting for the experienced seamen is nothing comparedto that of the fresher. Naturally, these fresher also stay inhostels for the longest periods – the ‘boys in waiting’. The boysin waiting are all young men aged between 19 and 30, and the vastmajority (85%) lies between 20 and 25. Nearly three quarters(74.6%) of them have completed their training in the past fouryears, i.e. between 2009 and 2012. These freshers hailed fromdifferent states of India, but there seems to be someconcentration from rural states such as Kerala (22.3%), UttarPradesh (15.4%), Bihar (13.8%) and Tamil Nadu (9.2%). Theireducational levels range from ‘10-pass’ (18.9%) to graduatedegree (13.3%), but the bulk (67.8%) have ‘12-pass’, roughlyequivalent to completion of high school.

Most trainee seafarers come from ordinary family backgrounds, as50% of all rate their family financial situations as ‘Poor’,another 46% as ‘Average’, and only less than 4% as ‘AboveAverage’. This is well matched by lifestyles in the hostel, withonly 2% choosing ‘Extravagant: Spend a lot and enjoy life’, 43%saying ‘Normal: don’t spend too much, just normal life’ and therest, 55% saying ‘Thrifty/Frugal: want to save every rupee’.Those who choose ‘Average’ or ‘Normal’ also tended to callthemselves ‘middle class’, though this label seems to be used inthe Indian parlance rather differently than the term might meanin a western context, for the average monthly expenses reportedby my participants is just 4017 Indian rupees or 85 US dollars,and the majority of respondents (70%) reported to spend between2500 and 5500 rupees per month.

Keeping expenses low is essential for every fresher, because theyhave no idea how long their waiting period is going to be. Infact, this is the very reason many freshers choose to stay inthis Hostel. With usually 15 people sharing a room meant for six,and on average 40 people sharing one toilet and shower, thecondition at hostels is extremely uncomfortable by Westernstandards. However, hostels charge only 20 rupees per night, andit is this low cost that enables the freshers to carry outsustained search for jobs in a city that is probably the most

expensive in India. For example, the most extreme case Iencountered was a person who claims to have stayed in hostels onand off for some seven and a half years and still has not foundhis first job! Extreme cases aside, the average reported waitingtime is 17 months, and on average a fresher has spent nearly 10of these 17 months living in the Hostel. WAI TI NG

During their waiting period at the Hostel, most freshers receiveremittance from family to cover their living costs. Some of themengage in casual jobs to earn some extra income, the typicalchoice being catering service. An entire day’s shift of 15 hours(!) brings in 350 rupees, and a half day shift 175. But even if afresher chooses to take this meagerly paid and demanding job, Iwas told that he usually cannot do it more than four or fivetimes a month, because his priority still lies with looking for aseafaring job. The proportion of freshers doing catering serviceis not high, and the seamen seemed to shy away from admitting todoing it because of its service nature. This concurs with arecent finding that even people trapped in dire situationssomehow struggle to maintain or re-construct dignity andmasculinity. A casual talk with one inmate generates someinsights into the psychology of those young men who have decidedto pursue seafaring. Unsurprisingly, good salary is the mainmotivation, and it is said the boys are mainly inspired byfriends from one’s locality, who is now an experienced seaman,earning a ‘handsome salary’. I asked him if he knew it would bedifficult to find a job after completing training, to which hereplied yes. Indeed, whatever this inexperienced boy might haveto say about seamanship is all fed from his seniors, because morethan merely an accommodation facility, hostel is also a space forpeer socialisation where seniors share with their junior’sinformation, knowledge and practical wisdom about seafaring. Thesenior seamen say: Being seamen is all depend on luck. Just oneword I tell you: luck. Some people wait for two years three yearscannot get job, but another seaman wait for two months or threemonths, he can get a job. So, yes, it is difficult to find job…but in fact you can’t say anything. It also depends on yourrelationship and reference. If you have good relationship andreference then you have a job. So it’s all luck.

This explanation of ‘luck’ is reflected in the fresher’s responseto my survey question ‘Do you think you can find a ship to joinsoon?’ Those who answered ‘Yes’ and ‘Don't know’ accounted foralmost 80%, whereas those who chose ‘No’ were only slightly above15%. This is despite all freshers telling one how difficult it isto find a job. The ‘relationship’ and ‘reference’ mentioned bythe senior seaman here allude to the fact that the roles ofnepotism, favoritism, and personal connections have becomeaccentuated in securing employment in a flooded labor market.However, for the vast majority of fresher who have no such‘relationship’ or ‘reference’, what are the implications? Thisshall be returned to shortly.

HOSTEL LIFE

The patterns of seamen’s lives in hostels are actually simple.For the ‘happy’ and ‘lucky’ seamen, they can enjoy every minuteof their stay by having alcohol with their mates or going out toenjoy the exciting metropolitan life provided by thiscosmopolitan city. For the rest who are looking for work,especially the fresher, however, job-hunting occupies most oftheir time and energy. In the evening and weekends, they mostlypursue cheap ‘time pass’ activities by playing cards, watchingtelly (two tellies are shared by the entire Hostel) or DVD (onportable DVD-players owned by ‘richer’ seamen who have earnedsalary), going to the market to shop for food, or simply taking aday-time snooze in the Hostel.

For young men of their age to stay in such a compact hostel withnear 2,000 other men while facing severe difficulties in seekingjobs, the freshers are experiencing considerable frustrations,which can be expected to encourage drug and alcohol use. In thisregard, one survey shows that only 10% of freshers smoke, andjust about 8% of them drink alcohol, which seems surprisinglylow. There is considerable deflation in such figures. The actualfigures of people taking drugs and alcohol are likely to behigher, though the extent is beyond ascertaining

STRATEGIES FOR JOB-HUNTING

When it comes to searching for jobs, the freshers’ strategiesroughly fall into three categories. First of all, most fresherswill try visiting the companies directly. These companies may bethe India agent companies of large global shipping companies;they can be global crewing companies; or they can be smallercoastal shipping businesses.

Regarding the response that the freshers receive from thesecompanies, my many informants unfailingly gave the samedescription: the company would take their resumes, and tell themthat there is no vacancy for fresher/trainee, and they might aswell go. Sometimes, the companies do not even accept resumés,simply putting up a notice on the door saying that no fresherneed enter. Even with those companies who are nice enough to takethe resumés, the freshers have no faith in them, as one freshervividly described to me ‘they take your resumé, and when you go,they put it in the bin! Or maybe they have food on your resumé,after, throw it away!’ Clearly, in a labor market where there isan abundant supply of experienced seamen, inexperienced ratingsare less desirable choices because of the on-job training thathas to be invested in them. For those freshers unarmed with any‘relationship’ or ‘reference’, their visits to potentialemployers are like cold calls, unlikely to receive any positiveresponse. It consequently becomes necessary for the freshers tocreate their own ‘relationship’ and ‘reference’, or, if they aredesperate, to buy them. This leads us to the two other commonstrategies. The second way to look for jobs is through ‘agents’,who are middlemen well-connected to seafarers’ employers. Theseagents are by no means government registered crewing agencies;instead, they are typically the friends or relatives to people inthe shipping companies; sometimes they may be actually working increwing companies themselves, or are seasoned seafarers whothrough years of practicing the trade have accumulated aneconomically exploitable handful of personal connections. Theseagents usually loiter around the areas where shipping companiesare concentrated or where the freshers stay, and they are sharpin recognizing who the needy freshers are. They would approach

the freshers, telling them that they are from so and so company,or they have such and such connections. They promise the freshersthat they can get them some vacancies, of course, subject to thepayment of handsome fees. The amount ranges from 100,000 rupeesto 400,000 rupees, but typically between 150,000 to 200,000 –substantial amounts indeed in India for people from ordinaryfamilies. According to estimates by both experienced and fresherseamen, it seems that only 10-25% of all these agents are‘genuine’ ones, namely, that they fulfill their promise by reallyproviding jobs after receiving the fees. The rest are fraudsters,who, after collecting enough money, simply vanish.

Staying in the Hostel, the freshers inevitably see or hear thatsome of their seniors have got their jobs through agents, whichseems a gamble well worth taking. The reward is alluring, becausethe first job is always the most difficult to get, and once theyhave made that ‘cut’, with some seagoing experience, the next jobwill be much easier to come by. Once they are smoothly on theirtrack as a seafarer, they will be earning salaries that aredisproportionately good compared to people in other jobs withsimilar education levels.

31.5% of freshers, report having given bribes to agents, and theamount of money range from 5000 rupees to 450,000 rupees,averaging at 125,000. However, one has to take these figuresagain with a grain of salt. Giving money to an agent meansadmitting one’s vulnerability and desperation. Having given themoney but having not got a job means being duped. This doublestigmatization is believed to lead to deflation in the abovefigures. Some more experienced seamen who are by now more relaxedand therefore frank about these issues admit that freshers, outof embarrassment, would not admit the whole truth, and it islikely that 80% of all freshers will somehow end up tryingbribing the agents.

However, a gamble also implies risk. In the case of thefraudulent agents, there is virtually no possibility for a victimto get his money back, because these transactions are illegal inthe first place, without any record. What is more, because mostof the freshers are not local residents, this cosmopolitan

metropolis is also proving to be an alien and dangerous place forthem. Most freshers are from rural backgrounds and are veryintimidated in such an unfamiliar environment, and they do notdare to argue with the agents or to report to police. For theirown safety, they remain silent. Hard-earned or even borrowedmoney disappears like this, without a trace, without any hope ofredress.

By now, the foul practices of the agents are well known to mostfreshers, it is just a matter whether they wish to take thegamble or not. Not a few freshers seem quite determined that theyare not going to be duped, just like one fresher said: ‘theseagents, they are all fraud! 100%!’ Among those who had not yetbribed agents, 85% suggest that they would not consider givingmoney in the future either, and only less than 15% indicate thatthey might do. Fear of being cheated large sums of money perhapsalso explains the third strategy some freshers choose to pursue,and that is through the trade unions. In India, thanks to itsrelatively high level of political freedom, trade unionorganizations flourish all over the country, and some indeedbecome extremely powerful and influential institutions. In themaritime sector, Union Sea (pseudonym) is the single mostpowerful union, and is believed by some to be the richest amongstall trade unions in India. Naturally, this union has also come toexercise considerable influence over the shipping companies andcrewing agencies operating in India. A practice has alsodeveloped that when companies have vacancies, they might informthe union, and the union is in a position to recommend seafarers.In other words, for those cautious freshers who refuse to takethe gamble of buying a quick but risky ‘connection’ from theagents, trade unions become a safer potential source from whichto forge ‘relationship’ and obtain ‘reference’. Every day infront of the Union Sea building in the shipping district of thecity, at least 20 fresher seamen will be waiting. They dressthemselves in leather shoes, office pants and shirts, some evencarrying briefcases. They come before the office hours and leaveonly after the General Secretary (GS) of the union leaves. Day inday out, these people come unfailingly, and all they are therefor is just to be able to see the GS occasionally, in the hope

that the GS becomes sympathetic to their desperate need for jobsand writes them recommendation letters. Whenever the GS alightsfrom his (chauffer driven) vehicle to enter the union building,the freshers will line up as if they were soldiers awaitinginspection. When the GS passes in front of them, the freshers arequick to salute in their nuanced Indian body language and say‘sir!’ The GS, however, is busy, and only calls in the freshersonce in a week and speaks to them very briefly. When askedwhether such seemingly futile waiting is really worth it, onefresher who has been coming to Union Sea everyday for nearly sixmonths told: He (the GS) don’t have much time to give us. So westand there, and whenever he gets the time he just call us. If hecan’t do anything, then just he call us, and say ‘keep in touch,I’ll do something, keep in touch, I’ll do something’, meansfinally you can say that he’d favor us. He is a very youngperson, but he is very good and experienced, and his mind issound, he watches. He watches we are standing daily, whether hemeets you or not it doesn’t matter. His mind is sound, he watch,and he knows this person is really in need… But (maybe) hecounts, nobody knows. What he is seeing in you, what he iswatching, you can’t see, but you have to do your job: go dailyand stand there, and whenever he give opportunity to tell yourproblem, and you just tell him, say I am suffering from thisproblem…

He and another fresher commented on the advantage of waiting atunions over searching for job through oneself or agents:

A: Listen, what happen, actually, he is my friend, and he isalready given the bribe about two lakh to the agent. Ok, but, ifyou will just count, then you will find it is better to go toUnion Sea … So there are many persons who are fresher, they givethe money and go to the ship; it is same that you wait here, andget the good company and carry on…

B: Only exception, we’ll get a job, could be late, but free ofcost, and the company and the union and the branches so manyagents available in the market, you have to pay big amount, onelakh, one and half lakh, two lakh, three lakhs, then they willprovide you job, could be cheat as well with you. In Union Sea,

only exception you can say, you will get a job, it could be late,two months, three months, six months, because you are facedparticularly before Mr. Major (GS), so he provide you a letter,that you will get a job, free of cost.

However, not all unions provide jobs for free. It has beenalleged by many of my informants that in recent years, manyorganizations have sprouted under the name of trade union, butfunction pretty much the same way as agents, taking money fromseamen for providing jobs. Many so-called unions ‘do not have thebest interests of the workers at heart’. The freshers anxiouslywaiting on jobs are clearly identified by many as easy prey.

VULNERABILITY

Before discussing the freshers’ vulnerabilities, it is relevantto understand just why people wanted to become seamen in India inthe first place. There are four choices regarding respondents’reasons for taking up seafaring and allowed multiple answers. Asexpected, good salary turned out to be by far the most commonreason, with 97 (66%) people having chosen it. Having a likingfor sea or sailing came second with 47 freshers (32%) choosing itas one of their reasons. To be able to go abroad and ‘see theworld’ came closely after with 41 (28%) hits, and finally 13people (9%) had chosen family background as a reason.

A question of significance when a young man decides to become aseaman is through what channel he enters this field, becauseentry through a regulated channel may imply a more informeddecision, whereas entry through casual channels tends to exposehim to various forms of exploitation. A survey reveals that asmuch as 63% of my respondents got to know about the trainingcourse and training institutes through their family, relative orfriends; 27% through media such as newspaper, magazine or TV,only 5% through the Internet, and 5% through other means.

In other words, though India has been internationally known forits brilliant computer engineers, the country’s reliance on theInternet seems ironically low, especially amongst the lowerstrata of society from which most seafarers seem to originate. An

information system which runs by and large on word of mouth andinterpersonal connections necessarily leaves more room forirregularities and malpractices to the disadvantage of seamen,though the seamen’s relatively low level of education alsocontributes to their lack of access to information. When askedwhether they knew if it would be difficult to find a job aftertheir training, 35% of the respondents indicated ‘Yes’ and therest ‘No’. Most freshers have only been shown the glamorous sideof seafaring, such as high salary and the chance to ‘roam theworld’ as they put it, but whether they knew the seamy side ofthe picture is less clear. And it is of course in the interest ofthose job agents and touts to only present the glamour of theprofession. The General Secretary of Union Sea comments: Lack ofinformation, lack of proper guidance, the person whom they wentto seek guidance give them…painted a very rosy picture ‘oh, it’sthe best of the thing; oh you will get a job like this…just dothis training, and you will be off, within six months you willboard a ship’…so this lack of guidance. And, some people also,they have the corruption is there, they give wrong advice, theythemselves agents and touts, they give wrong guidancedeliberately that ‘oh, if you become…you have to give so muchmoney. If you give this much money he will get you training done,and then if you give this much money, he will put you onboard theship.’ So people who are misguided who are not…and it is not thatthe people who misguided the ones, you know, illiterate one; manya literate person, people who have served in the armed forcesalso, they also got misguided and they have also given money. Ihave known such people…it is not that people, you know,illiterate people, they are uneducated people got misguided…itwas this type of people also. So, it is…you know…it is a sense ofhope, that if you…they consider it as an investment inthemselves: ‘let’s...even if an agent, the corruption is there,let’s invest so much for a better future life, after so manyyears…’ But not all rivers end up into the sea, you know…somerivers go around and end up in some dry valley. Among those whohave in some way bribed agents, 32.3% gave the money before theystarted training, and another 6.5% gave both before and aftertraining. Through my casual interviews with the freshers, itturned out that it is quite typically the case that a young man

from the rural area has seen some neighbors or relatives who havehad a handsomely gainful career as a seafarer, and therefore hisfamily through some personal contacts find an agent, who in turndemands from the candidate a lump sum higher than the course fee,and promises to both enroll the candidate and secure a job forhim afterwards. Of course, such promises are rarely fulfilled –the agent either demands more money or stalls, or simplydisappears. One fresher narrates his experience: Actually whathappened: my agent he told me that you finish the course, and Iwill put you on the ship. After finishing the course, I completemy BSc, because I have left before 2 years, then I went to myagent, he was saying ok, I will place you, but after some time hewas just stucking [stalling]…what he was doing: he will say, oknow, you just go for the medical, so I went for the medical. Hesaid go and take the yellow fever [test], then I take the yellowfever. Then he was saying, now, I need more 40,000 rupee, then Iwill place you. But I thought that it is…he is not a levelperson, maybe he receives 40,000 then after he will ok I wantsome more. Or he may put me on wrong ship. Wrong ship, you know,means not travelling, not…in the wait, maybe in the scrap or inthe dock, being repaired or maintenance…go for the scrap ormaintenance or whatever. There are many types of the ship, goodship, big ship, small ship, depends on the GRT [gross tonnage]…So there are many chances of deceive…

I have in the above attempted to render a rounded description ofthe situation of Indian fresher ratings through selective data.While the broad focus I attempted at means that none of theaspects could be gone into in significant detail, it can begleaned that the fresher ratings are found in profoundlyprecarious and vulnerable positions. Conceptualization ofprecarity has so far emphasized the features of actualemployment, such as remuneration, renewal terms and so on, but inthis paper I broaden its scope by counting pre-employmentvulnerabilities into precariousness. The supply and demand inglobal seafaring labor market creates a polarization wherebyhighly skilled officers increasingly enjoy greater employmentsecurity and better terms (Yang 2010) whereas ratings face aprofession that is significantly more casual – with short

duration of training and low entry standards – and increasinglydevoid of certainty or standard practices in the context of neo-liberalization/marketization. In fact, as the data show, as soonas freshers enter the field to search for employment, theyconstantly stand the danger of falling prey to a range of foulplayers.

I interviewed a senior official in the DG Shipping, asking whythe government continued to approve training establishments eventhough there has been clear indication of an oversupply and aseries of associated problems. He seemed to be struck by thenaivety of the question, and replied in an unimpressed manner,that, first of all, having some unemployment of seafarers ‘isalways good’, because it will ‘keep a pressure’ on those who areemployed, so that they will not become inefficient andirresponsible in discharging their work duties; secondly, becausethe growth prospects of global shipping is looking sanguine, itis always desirable to have some extra labor reserve so that whennew employment opportunities come up, the Indian seafarers willbe in a position to benefit. And the more Indians employed in theinternational market earning dollars, the more foreign currencywill flow into the country, the official enlightened me. In otherwords, the systematically sustained surplus of ratings functionsto discipline the Indian Seafaring labor force in the competitiveinternational labor market and to simultaneously provide a‘reserve army’ which will be ready to capture greater globalshares for the good of the nation. It seems to the governmentofficial that the difficulties faced by a few ratings are to betolerated in view of the interest of the nation, though it isclear from my study that those seafarers themselves do not derivea sense of pride for being such selfless national benefactors. Aparallel could be found in Filipino overseas workers’ refusal tothe state’s discursive appropriation of them as national heroesor heroines. At the intersection of India’s neoliberal economicreform and its integration into a competitive global economicorder as a human resource rich country, it is ironically thosevery humans that makeup the resources who seem to have to makethe sacrifices. The disciplining of seafarers mentioned by theofficial also relates to another interesting point that emerges

from my data, namely, the ambivalent relationship between job-seeking ratings and the maritime trade unions. Leaving asidethose bogus trade unions which are exploitative job agencies indisguise, even for established labor unions such as Union Sea,there is as much an aspect of patronage/protection as that ofdiscipline in their relationship with the freshers. It is wellknown that casual labor ‘hiring halls’ demand loyalty from job-seekers and thereby also exert discipline over them to regulatetheir behavior on job, as Williams (2009) illustrates. Thedeference and obedience shown by the freshers towards the GeneralSecretary of Union Sea indicates a parallel between the functionof seafaring trade unions in India and hiring halls. Indeed,further data show very clearly that disciplining is at the veryheart of the function of those Indian seafaring trade unions thatI came across in my research (Yang 2010), and it may be arguedthat some unions discipline their members – not least thefreshers – to such a degree that the unions’ fundamental identityas representatives of labor could be called into question. If notfor the discipline exercised by the unions, why else wouldemployers be happy to contact the union when they have vacanciesor to accept job-seekers when they have a reference orrecommendation from the union? What is at play is arguably asignificant shift, if not reversal, of the union’s role from theside of labor to that of the capital – a phenomenon that is worthcloser investigation. Nevertheless, as the purpose of the currentpaper remains presenting an overall understanding of the fresherratings’ situation, I shall reserve the above point for aseparate study.

RECOMMENDATIONS AND FURTHER RESEARCH

Finally, if the fundamental problem lies in a systematicallycreated oversupply, then will simply shutting down the institutessolve the problem, as some of the seafarers seemed to suggest? Ina populous developing economy such as India, unemployment almostseems inevitable. This paper does not intend to fundamentallycriticize the Indian Government’s policy toward seafaring labortraining and supply, because, considering that even though theIndian economy has been booming for the last two decade the rate

of underemployment in India remains a major problem there isreason to believe that unemployment is a wider structural issue,instead of being specific to certain industries. In the highlystratified Indian society, it is usually those who are already atsocial disadvantage (low education, disadvantaged socialbackgrounds etc.) that elect to train as seafarers. Theunemployment of fresher seafarers and their consequentvulnerabilities can hence be more appropriately understood asmanifestations of the general structure and realities of theIndian economy than merely direct consequences of policymismanagement. However, this does not mean that there is nothingthe government can do or needs to do about the frankly appallingsituation the freshers face. While it would be implausible tosuggest the seafaring labor market be taken back under stateplanning as leftist trade unionists tend to advocate, there areperhaps areas within the current system on which the authoritycan seek to make improvements, so that the new entrants into themarket suffer less from gratuitous exploitation. For instance,the availability and access to labor market information is oneurgent issue. Many young men chose to become seafarers simplybased on hearsay information, with very little detailed knowledgeof the profession in which they are going to invest heftily, anda labor market which they will join thereafter. A transparent andgovernment supervised channel of selection and application totraining colleges also seems desirable, so ignorant entrants nolonger suffer at the hands of unethical middlemen or agents. Thefoul practices of the job agents also need to be put a bridle on,and this requires stronger law enforcement on the one hand, andbetter education of the fresh entrants into the labor market onthe other. Lastly, for those who are in the labor market andwaiting to try their luck, the government also has aresponsibility to facilitate their employment-seeking by puttinginto place a more regulated and systematized channel ofinformation flow. At the same time, any initiative to improve theliving conditions of these ‘boys in waiting’ and enrich theirsocial life so that they spend their time more meaningfully andproductively are to be welcomed. For all these improvements to bepossible, the government authority is in a position to take alead role, but it also requires the involvement of other private

and public stakeholders such as the shipping companies, the tradeunions, and not least, the seafarers themselves. Lastly, althoughthis paper attempts to explore the precariousness andvulnerabilities faced by fresher seafarers in India andsubsequently to make some suggestions and recommendations, thelimitations of all of these attempts have been obvious. Examiningfrom a very restricted perspective, namely focusing on thefresher seamen staying in one single Hostel, the various problemscan only be said to have been probed, but not studied in anydepth. Topped by further difficulties such as the lack ofresources to do a more extensive study, the suggestions madeabove are also done in broad strokes, and wait to be filled outand refined by further research efforts. Nevertheless, it ishoped that this paper, by describing the situation of this groupof Indian ‘boys in waiting’, opens to the readers anotherpotentially fruitful field in which to examine how neoliberalglobalization profoundly and often deleteriously impacts laboracross industries and countries.

Kerala leads in PPP-based Port projectsunder bid: AssochamKOCHI: With two projects worth over Rs 5,500 Crore, Kerala is thefrontrunner among states that have projects under bidding in thepublic-private-partnership (PPP) model in the ports sector, saida study conducted by the Associated Chambers of Commerce andIndustry of India (Assocham).

As per the report titled 'Port Developments in India', the Keralaprojects represent a share of 40% in value terms. While twoprojects worth over Rs 6,200 Crore are under construction in thestate, one completed project, worth over Rs 700 Crore, has beenput to service delivery, the study said.

"Out of the total 881 PPP projects worth over Rs 5.4 lakh Croretaken up across India, 62 projects in the port sector worth overRs 82,000 Crore are in different stages of implementation," saidD S Rawat, Secretary General of Assocham.

"While there are 31 completed port projects worth over Rs 24,700Crore, about 21 PPP projects in the port sector with a share of52% worth over Rs 43,000 Crore are under construction, eightprojects worth about Rs 14,000 Crore with a share of about 17%are under bidding," said Mr. Rawat.

In the under construction category, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odishaand the Union territory of Pondicherry are the regions withmaximum share, ranging from 7% to 16% of the PPP projects, worthover Rs 2,900 Crore -Rs 6,700 Crore.

"There is an urgent need to modernize India's ports as theexisting ports are plagued with a plethora of problems likecongestion, poor connectivity, accessibility and lack of adequatefacilities," said Rawat. Considering that India's portinfrastructure is not at par with the global standards, it posessevere challenges to the country's trade in terms of higher costsand turnaround time at ports, he added.

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Crosscurrents in the shipping sector In the Eleventh Five Year Plan, (2007-2012), the port (including inland) had underachieved the investment target by a staggering 54 per cent despite the fact that the Tenth Five Year Plan (2002-2007) had a robust beginning with the actual investment in the port sector surpassing the original investment target of `140 billion, by 63 per cent.

Though the National Maritime Development Program (NMDP) was inducted almost at the same time as the Eleventh Plan, the developments in the maritime sector had, since then steadily declined. The NMDP targeted 276 projects for Major ports with a total investment of `1,003 billion. However, only 50 projects i.e. less than 20 per cent were completed. Only 74 projects were under progress by the end of Financial Year 2010.

Its successor, the Maritime Agenda 2010-2020, has 484 projects

for Major ports with a planned investment of `1,280 billion with much of the unfinished projects being carried over from the previous programme. New targets have been set, but the problems besieging the various projects have remained the same. Projects are either being delayed or failing to takeoff due to financial and environmental constraints. Poor response from bidders, litigations, bureaucratic and regulatory issues continue to bedevil the projects. Clearly there is a lack of clarity in policies and a level playing ground, both of which are an indispensable condition for increased participation of the private sector.

Incredible though it may sound, the Ernst & Young study, estimates that a PPP project from conception to its implementation, encompassing all clearances till financial closure takes at least five years. The biggest stumbling block isthe environmental clearance.

The schematic presentation of the environmental clearance procedure is a potpourri of arrows darting back and forth in a seemingly endless circle. No doubt the environmental clearances are stringent, but the process of clearance continues to remain ahighly complex exercise.

The Government expects the private sector to fund a major share of the investment in ports. More than 80 per cent of the investments in major ports are proposed to come from the private sector. The percentage is expected to be higher in non-major ports which are expected to be around 96 per cent.

Dredging has been a major casualty. Today the draft at major ports range from 7 meters in older ports and up to 17 meters in newer ports. Higher drafts are available in very few ports. The Twelfth Plan seeks to enhance the draft to at least to 14 meters in all ports and 17 meters in hub ports. The progress of dredginghas however been slow and laborious. Most Indian companies are not geared to offer the entire range of dredging services nor arethe companies willing to be directly involved in dredging. With the non-major ports threatening to wrest the traffic volumes from

major ports, the share of the dredging work by the private sectoris going to increase in the coming years.

As per the Planning Commission, in the Eleventh Five Year Plan, atotal quantity of 675.25 million cubic meters (MCM) and 429.99 MCM had been planned for capital and maintenance dredging respectively for all the ports in the country. This quantity includes the dredging to be done for fishing harbors, the major and non major ports. Against this targeted plan, only 278.93 MCM and 291.63 MCM had been achieved under the capital and maintenance dredging respectively constituting 41.31 per cent and67.82 per cent against the targeted quantity.

The Planning Commission in its report of working group for the port sector acknowledges the giant strides in the port sector internationally. The top 20 Container Ports in the world have draft ranging from 14 meters to 16 meters even in 2003. Thereafter, some Ports in China and other countries have enhanceddrafts still further to accommodate Super post Panamax. Hence, “there is a great need that ports in India are required to increase the draft at least to 14 meters during the Twelfth Plan period and to 17 meters in Hub- Ports in post-plan period.”

The policies of Tariff Authority for Major Ports (TAMP) has been a major bone of contention impeding growth of private investments. It had vetoed the proposal for any increase in terminal handling charges made by the three private terminals under the jurisdiction of the major port-Nhava Sheva International Container Terminal Pvt. Ltd and Gateway Terminals India Pvt. Ltd at Nhava Sheva and Chennai International TerminalsPvt. Ltd in Chennai. A former secretary from the Ministry of Shipping bluntly stated that TAMP should go. It has outlived its utility. But the problem just does not end there. Even after all clearance, the Sword of Damocles continues to hang over the project simply because the ministry can revisit in case of any subsequent policy change, if proper assessment has not been made before undertaking the contracts.

The maritime industry has reposed considerable of hope and

anticipation in the promulgation of Regulatory Authority Bill 2011. They are expecting a level playing field and rationalization of tariffs.

In the Captive Port Policy, port based industrial units will be allotted land and water front on a nomination basis for setting up dedicated ports for their own use. No permission is required from the Centre for setting up of a non-major private port, except for necessary statutory clearances from the nodal agencies.

The Land Policy for Major Ports is another step in removing hurdles in setting up ports. Major ports in the country are gearing up to make commercial use of their surplus lands to boostearnings. The chairman will have the power to grant the licenses.The thrust will be to allot land either on license or lease basisdepending on the port’s requirements. The port trusts have been directed to allot land inside custom bound area only on license basis.

The Prime Minister has also sought to accelerate the infrastructure development. The target of 42 projects for developing capacity to 224 mtpa (million tons per annum) estimated at `145 trillion has been set for the port sector. The planned capacity for 2012-13 is 360 million tons. With these projects coming under the Prime Minister’s scrutiny, there would

be better monitoring of progress and streamlining of execution process.

We are passing through a period of subdued trade movement. The time is now to speed up the infrastructure developments at the ports. Once economic situations improve there would be a sharp acclivity in trade activities. In the neighborhood of India the countries are racing ahead – our closest neighbor Sri Lanka is set to consolidate its status as a transshipment hub in the SouthAsian region.